The Renault Sport RS 01 race car made its first public appearance on October 18 at the Jerez circuit in Spain in front of 58,000 spectators.
Former Formula 1 champion Alain Prost was behind the wheel of Renault’s new racer, which will compete from 2015 in the Renault Sport Trophy, a new championship of the World Series by Renault. The Frenchman was impressed with the RS 01 and let it slip that the racer is inspired by new production models, which can only mean that it previews the upcoming Alpine sports car.
“The Renault Sport RS 01 is magnificent, and that’s important in terms of image. This is a new step forward for Renault, since it is launching what is actually a typical Endurance car. It’s a real race car, while being closely linked to the product since its design was largely inspired by the new production models,” Prost said.
The car was also driven by rallying legend Jean Ragnotti and Red Bull Formula 1 driver Sébastien Buemi. The RS 01 has already covered 3,000 kilometers (1,864 miles) on various tracks with different drivers, but development work will continue until the first customer deliveries in March 2015. The Renault Sport RS 01 will have its racing debut at Spa-Francorchamps in mid-2015.
The RS 01 is powered by a Nismo 3.8-liter twin-turbo V6 producing more than 500 hp and 600 Nm (442 lb-ft) of torque. Derived from the Nissan GT-R, the engine is mated to a Sadev 7-speed sequential gearbox and is able to push the RS 01 to a top speed of over 300 km/h (186 mph).
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